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Ha ha – there’s literally no end of Pista-based puns and I’m not taking the Pista, there. I managed not to replicate my spazzy speed hump near-miss with some judicious application of the forward brake (I very rarely use the aft brake). Here’s how the Pista is looking with fancy white handlebar tape:

It's a modest speed.

and a nice, still morning on the river.

Also, my cousin Alastair has alerted me to what appears to be a fixed gear crack down in Tokyo. Readers are urged to contact police if they see one and to help out they have the ladies demonstrating what one looks like*

This is not a respectable bicycle.

And a graphic to help you spot one:

The forward-slanted saddle is a give-away.

No bar tape, top tube padding and silly saddle. I was wrong yesterday – I haven’t nearly gone full hipster yet.

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5 Comment on “Pista Resistance”

The Pista looks gorgeous. Are you taking the mickey about this fixie crackdown in Tokyo? Although, that being said, every time they do a segment on the news about the growing “problem” that exists between cyclists and cars (of course we on two wheels are the aforementioned problem) there is always one wise guy who mentions those “nut jobs” on fixed gear bikes. I say we take ’em, strap ’em onto the Pista and push them down a 12% grade and watch them spin…….fast!

In Sapporo whenever I saw police cracking down on bikes, my first thought was that the fuzz should have something better to do but then I would promptly remember the condition of most mamacharis I saw and realised it was no bad thing for the police to be telling people to make sure their brakes worked. If Japanese police are cracking down on fixies, I think it is likely to be more out of genuine concern for the riders’ safety.

On the other hand, I can never quite understand people who harp on about how dangerous cyclists are. If these cyclists are as dangerous as they say, do we really want to kick them off their bikes and have them driving around in cars instead?

I think we’ve already discussed how you could never be a hipster. However you’d be cutting it pretty close if you grew a moustache. The next thing you have to do then is to “throw down” a challenge to every single roadie you see, even if they’re just slowly crawling home from a long shift and not interested in participating in Cat 6 racing.

The moustache never lasts more than a couple of weeks before the itching becomes unbearable. I did burn past every single roadie I saw on the way to work and cut back in to them way too early, just to let them know I was there and ready to take up the commuter race challenge. Except that roadie I saw at the end of my street. He headed the other direction at the first chance he got.